The Arizona Cardinals came away from their first preseason game on Saturday having lost the game 16-14 on a last-second field goal after they took the lead with under two minutes remaining.
Offensively, they finished with 328 total yards. But they had two second-half touchdowns and scored a go-ahead touchdown when they needed it.
What can we take away from the loss?
We’re not going to see starters
We already knew that quarterback Kyler Murray is going to play in the preseason. But the only expected starter on offense who got any work on Saturday was rookie receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. If they didn’t play in this game and won’t play in the preseason finale, with joint practices in Indianpaolis next week, we shouldn’t expect to see them play at all in the preseason.
Nothing for Harrison
Harrison did start, but his time on the field lasted one series for three plays. He came out after that.
That wasn’t exactly the plan. Head coach Jonathan Gannon said the plan was to get him the ball early in the game before coming out. They went three-and-out and the plays they were going to call changed after Desmond Ridder was sacked on the second offensive play.
Offense overmatched early, but bounced back a little bit
The Cardinals didn’t pick up a first down until the second quarter. They didn’t score in the first half.
Through one quarter, the offense generated 17 yards. However, they were going up the Saints’ starters on defense, so that could be why.
Their two second-quarter possessions ended in turnovers on downs, the final one coming when they passed on kicking a field goal.
The run game still there
The Cardinals had the No. 4 run game last season and appear to good still in that department, even with their reserves. They rushed for 145 yards as a team.
Clayton Tune looked way better
Tune struggled in preseason action last year as a rookie and was awful in his one start in the regular season.
Against the Saints, he looked good. He had great throws, placed well with the right amount of velocity and touch.
You could tell he was much more comfortable and he said that he knew what he was doing with the ball much more than as a rookie. That led to better ball placement. Seen as the underdog to win the backup quarterback job behind Ridder, he might make this competition good.
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.